Wild Child
by Razell
Summary: A short story about Wild Child.


Wild Child

'_Are you running down ancient pathways_

_Through this dark and deserted land_

_To where man is once more a child?_

_Are you running to freedom's fortress_

_By the side of wide open seas_

_Where The Wolf is one with The Wild?'_

Joyce - _Run, Wolf Warrior, Run_

He stopped short and sniffed the air for prey. The scent of the wild invigorated him. The forest enveloped him, like a child in his mother's arms. Here he was truly _alive_.

He didn't know how long he'd been in the forest, living like this.

The Wild Child.

Kyle Gibney.

Was that _really_ his name? The humans had hurt him so much that he wasn't sure what was real anymore. Here he was the Wild Child. Here he could be an animal. Here he could run naked through the forest with his wolf-brothers. Here he could bring down prey without punishment. There were no laws beyond the laws of nature. No people to stare or judge him. Or _hurt_ him. Only the animals and the purity of nature.

It was dangerous, The Wild. But it was far better than sleeping on cold city streets and eating out of garbage cans. That was how he had lived when his parents threw him out.

Mutant.

Monster.

Animal.

You're not _our_ son.

They were right. They were _not_ his parents. Parents love and care for their young. They do not hate them. Beat them. Abandon them.

His mother was _Nature_.

His father, _The Wild_.

Here he was among family.

After his par. . . The _humans_ abandoned him, he had been taken by other humans, evil humans. Kidnapped. Tortured. Made into Wild Child.

Made to kill other people. A living weapon.

Why live among humans, if that was how they treated one another? It was not like that with animals. Even the Wendigo killed only for food. Wendigo did not hate, nor was he cruel. He was just hungry. Wild Child had far more in common with Wendigo than with men, now.

Perhaps, in the end, Wendigo was _better_ than either of them.

He often thought of what he was before, even that he would rather forget. _Especially_ that which he would rather forget. He remembered _Shard_. Her kindness to him. Her death. . . He remembered Wolverine. He would never forget Wolverine. And he remembered Creed. _Sabertooth_. He could never forgive Creed for what he had done to Aurora.

_Aurora_. He felt a pain in his heart. A tear rolled down his cheek. He shook his blonde head, willing himself to forget. For now. He stood up and straightened to his full 5'8", (something he rarely did nowadays), and looked around at the pine trees surrounding him. He was handsome, in a way, a slim but well-muscled youth, his skin golden from days spent basking in the sun. His features were angular, and he had been described as looking like something between an elf and a werewolf. His green eyes were fierce and alert. He looked at his hands, slim but powerful, with claws that could, (and had), torn through even Creed's flesh. His feet were also clawed, allowing him to use all four limbs to lethal effect. It felt strange to stand again. Like a man. He had been a boy, once, but the bad men had made him into a monster. A murderer.

They had a name, these monsters:

_The Secret Empire_.

He felt a dark joy at the vague memory of Wyre tearing his tormentors apart with his bare hands.

Before he turned on _him_.

_Wyre_.

But he'd survived. The Secret Empire. Wyre. Wolverine. Sabertooth. Even Wendigo. He'd survived them all. But surviving yesterday did not insure surviving today. And it did not fill empty bellies. He snapped out of his revery.

He scented prey. Elk. He howled to signal his brothers, then returned to all fours. It was far more comfortable to him now. Going on all fours. Grey shapes appeared from the shadows. Wolves. His pack. His _family_.

It was time for the hunt to begin.

Meat. Raw and warm. Fresh from the kill. Wild Child watched as his wolf-brothers ate and grunted and snapped. He gnawed on several ribs torn from the elk's carcass. He was the _Alpha__ Male_. The term could not truly be appreciated by one who had never run with the pack. _Alpha__ Female_. . . Even among his brethren, Kyle was alone in that. Aurora. He still loved her, but she could never live as he did. She couldn't survive The Wild as he could.

And she didn't love him. _Couldn't_ love him.

She was beautiful and he was ugly.

He wondered where she was now. Did she even remember him? Maybe she was happy. Maybe she had a man by now. He sighed and pushed the memories away. It didn't matter anymore. There was no reason to dwell on what he could never have. Here he had a chance to forget what he had been. What he had done. He would have to, if he wanted to live. One had to be alert to survive. The past was dead. Only the future remained.

Was he a man?

No. He was _Wild Child_. He was a creature of The Wild. He had no place among men.

Alpha Flight. Beta Flight. Gamma Flight. X-Factor. Weapon X. He did not belong among them.

He belonged with the pack.

With The Wild.

This was his home now.

The End.

_Notes_:

The quote is from the _Wolf's Rain_ soundtrack, the artist was listed only as Joyce. I don't know her full name.

I think this might be what Kyle would like. Just freedom to be himself with no one to bother him. But he would doubtless want a woman to share it with. I'm sure one will eventually come along just for him. ( : If anyone wants to write that story feel free. I don't own the character, if I did, he'd be happy and still _alive_ in canon.

_Handsome_ is a relative term. Many might disagree with my calling Wild Child handsome. Except for his time with Weapon X, where he looked like Count Orlok from _Nosferatu_, Kyle's handsome to me. Of course, I'm a bit. . . _Odd_.

_Wyre_ was a mutant employed by an evil group called The Secret Empire. His genetic material was used to turn Kyle, (And many others), from a slightly animalistic mutant kid into a feral killing machine. He later felt remorse for creating so many dangerous creatures, causing so much suffering, that he turned on the Empire, slaughtering everyone but Kyle, who escaped.

Wild Child faced a Wendigo in another of my stories. As far as I know, he's never faced one in canon. I may or may not submit the story.

I feel the need to point out that _NO_, he does _Not_ mate with wolves! And he _never_ will!

_Wild Child/Kyle Gibney_ and everything and everyone else in this story belong to Marvel Comics.

_Wolf's Rain_ and _Run, Wolf Warrior, Run_ are copyright BONES and Alion International Records


End file.
